Category Archives: Cars

The Lotus Evora S offers the best balance of steering, ride and handling performance of any car on sale, says Jon Quirk. Our man visited Lotus HQ in Hethel to test the company’s flagship coupe on road and track.

The Evora is a stunning car, both aesthetically and technically. For the money, the Evora S is one of the best drivers’ cars we’ve tested, but it’s the Porsche 911 that offers a more rounded ownership proposition. You’d need to be very committed to choose the Evora S over a 911, but we’d completely understand if you did.

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To mark the release of The Dark Night Rises on Blu-Ray and DVD, Nissan have teamed up with Warner Bros to design this unique – Batman-inspired (!) – Nissan Juke Nismo.

This one-off comes complete with black 18-inch alloys, lowered sports suspension, a matte black finish and a whole load of Bat logos. So how does it compare with the rest of the Batmobiles?

We have pulled together our very own Batman-inspired gallery, from the Batmobile driven by Adam West in the 1966 TV series to the modern-day Bruce Wayne’s luxurious cruisers, check out these classic rides behind Gotham City’s mysterious Dark Knight.

2005 not only introduced the new look Batman films, but also showcased the new look Batmobile. Nicknamed “The Tumbler”, this ride loses its elegance and shine and instead takes on the gritty, down-to-business approach. This custom-built 2.5 tonne ex-military vehicle which uses a 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8 engine, can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 5 seconds. This along with the fact that this car comes with a detachable, bulletproof, explosive firing Batpod means you wouldn’t want to mess with this bad boy.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 (From Batman Begins/The Dark Knight)

The Lamborghini Murcielago AKA Bruce Wayne’s ‘day car’. Far from subtle, but this beautiful piece of luxury certainly holds it stead against some of the more classical cars in Batman’s historical garage. Fitted with a 6.5-litre V12 engine, this lambo can accelerate from 0-62mph in just 3.4 seconds and hit a top speed of 211mph.

Bentley Arnage (From Batman Begins)

The iconic Bentley Arnage defines luxury on a whole different sphere. From your action motors to your fast motors, this two tonne four door saloon acts as Bruce Wayne’s personal chauffeur service – complete with none other than Michael Caine, aka multi-talented Butler Alfred Pennyworth at the helm, if you’re Bruce Wayne of course.

image courtesy of ScreenRant.com

1995 Batmobile (From Batman Forever)

The caped crusader’s ultimate vehicle. This Batmobile was custom-built vehicle using a Chevrolet 350 ZZ3 racing engine from 1995, built out of carbon fibre, and featured grappling hooks and could theoretically climb walls – impressive skills!

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (From Batman Forever)

In 1995’s Batman Forever, Bruce Wayne’s priceless collection of classic cars is showcased, displaying the millionaire playboy’s petrolhead playthings. Just one of the many classic cars in the collection of was the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL -one of the world’s very first ‘supercars’ and the first petrol-powered car to offer fuel injection.

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (From Batman Returns)

Sticking with the elegant theme, another of Bruce Wayne’ s chauffeur driven cars. 1992’s Batman Returns sees Alfred driving the effortlessly elegant Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith. The Silver Wraith was made at the Crewe factory, and has been used as both the Irish and Brazilian presidential state cars – this car keeps only the most esteemed company.

image courtesy of ScreenRant.com

1989 Batmobile (From Batman)

The one which started Batman’s descent into darkness… director Tim Burton showcased a completely new Batman to cinema audiences across the world with his iconic film. And with an iconic film comes the iconic car. This new look Batmobile was built on chassis found in local scrap yards – one from a Chevrolet Caprice and another from a Buick Riviera, featuring a jet turbine in its nose and a Chevrolet V8 engine under the long bonnet.

image courtesy of imcdb (Internet Car Movie Database)

Dodge 3700 GT (From Batman)

Batman’s legendary adversary ‘The Joker’ was made famous to cinema audiences across the world by Jack Nicholson in 1989’s Batman film. And the “Clown Prince of Crime” was seen driving an old Dodge 3700 GT – in his trademark colours of purple and green

image courtesy of ScreenRant.com

1966 Batmobile (From the television series of Batman)

Back before Batman was modernised into a dark playboy and philanthropist, him and his loyal sidekick Robin, were known as the lovable crime fighting duo. But what duo would be complete without a customised Batmobile with distinctive wing-shaped tailfins. The car that was designed by George Barris – a Hollywood custom car builder – based it on the Ford Futura concept car below.

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A Maybach 57 previously owned by Theo Paphitis of Dragon’s Den fame is currently for sale on Auto Trader for £130,000.

The stationery business guru and TV star took delivery of the Maybach 57 back in 2007 and was happy to explain why the ultimate high-end limousine was his car of choice. Theo liked to use the cabin as his “chill out zone” when travelling the length and breadth of the country on business.

His attachment to the luxury German manufacturer has continued ever since. Recently he invested in a Maybach 62 and Theo’s no shrinking violet as he opted for the latest in blinged-out customisation with full on chrome body and personalised RYM4N number plate!

And he’s not alone, the brand is famous for attracting such esteemed owners as Madonna, Puff Daddy and Jay Z.

Paphitis’ Maybach 57 is being sold by Marlow Cars, a prestige, sports and luxury car specialist based in Buckinghamshire. Luke Bangs from Marlow Cars told Auto Trader: “The Maybach truly is the ultimate in understated luxury, recognised by only those who know!”

Check out Marlow Cars’ YouTube channel for a closer look at the Dragon’s luxury car and more, or follow them on Facebook

The Nissan Micra is a global car. More than six million have been sold since its 1982 launch and the current (fourth) generation of the car is expected to go on sale in a staggering 160 countries, twice the number the seemingly ubiquitous Ford Focus is sold in.

It’s all part of an ambitious plan for Nissan to become the dominant Japanese car manufacturer in UK, in Europe and beyond.

Against this background it was perhaps inevitable the Micra should throw itself open to accusations of blandness.

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In January we reported the Ford Focus as the year’s most talked about car, with two generations of the popular family car attracting over 350 owner reviews on Auto Trader. But alas, not all cars can rely on their ubiquitous reputation and wealth of willing owners to write their reviews – especially if they are relatively new models.

Since launching owner reviews we have attracted almost 15,000 car reviews by real drivers covering a variety of makes, models, years and body types, including both new cars and used cars.

We’ve offered prizes along the way to the ‘most useful’ reviews and in our current competition we’re giving away £500 every day to one lucky reviewer until the 28th March.

We’ve compiled a list of 20 new cars whose owners are yet to step forward and write a review extolling the virtues (or vices) of their new motor.

If you spot yours in the list, write a review today and you could be in with a chance of winning £500.

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A Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder once belonging to Jeremy Clarkson is currently for sale on Auto Trader.

Clarkson bought the supercar for £140,000 in 2007 following a game of ‘Airport Departure Lounge Dares’ with fellow Top Gear hosts, James May and Richard Hammond. The game generally involves lulling one’s opponent in to buying something they neither want, or need and this time Jeremy took the bait.

So if you fancy the car that Clarkson described as a ‘billion times better looking than the F430’ and ‘a billion times more fun’ or if you know any impressionable people who could be convinced to buy a Lambo if you told them it made them look cool – check out the advert on Auto Trader

The car is being sold by Buckinghamshire High Performance and viewings are by prior appointment only. Though they do offer hire-packages for a range of prestige vehicles, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes and BMW. Visit the BHP website for more details.

Looking for a novel form of transport during this year’s cold-snap? Autoquake.com is offering used car buyers the chance to purchase a very unique vehicle – Santa’s sleigh.

Word on the street is, after many centuries flying around the world delivering presents, Santa has decided to retire his sleigh and replace it with a used car from Autoquake’s stock.

Considering the sleigh has covered 25,122,010 miles it really is in remarkable condition. The new owner will enjoy remarkable features including magic transmission, sleigh bells and heated reins.

Anyone interested in buying Santa’s sleigh should go to www.autoquake.com for the full listing – complete with the usual high quality photos, detailed description and condition viewer which shows all visible wear and tear. Like all Autoquake’s used cars, Santa’s Sleigh is covered by their 7 day money back guarantee but instead of the usual £100 reservation fee, anyone interested in the sleigh is invited to donate to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children.

The decision to sell his old sleigh wasn’t an easy one, as Santa Claus explained:

“I’ve got a lot of happy memories flying all over the world with this sleigh, but it’s time to move on to something more modern. At my time of life mucking out the reindeer stalls twice a day is getting a bit much.”

We heartily agree. Though it’s sad to see Santa moving on with the times, it’s all for a good cause Great Ormond Street Hospital provides world-class care for its young patients and their families. Help keep the magic alive this Christmas with any donations you can spare.